


The Maze

by Coraleeveritas



Series: Futures [3]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 03:58:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4945867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coraleeveritas/pseuds/Coraleeveritas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winterfell's first tourney of the new spring looms and Brienne is getting ready to greet the guests but Jaime isn't where he's supposed to be.</p><p>A story for Day 3 of JB appreciation week.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Maze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SandwichesYumYum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandwichesYumYum/gifts).



> Another day, another ficlet :)
> 
> Thank you to RoseHeart for her super star betaing yet again this week! And to the lovely Sandwiches for always being so supportive and positive right when I need it most. This is one of the fluffiest things I've written for this year's appreciation week. 
> 
> As always, anything you recognise doesn't belong to me.

The blades of grass brushed against Brienne's ravaged cheek as she ventured deeper into the maze, an undulating sea of green having been carefully tamed and cultivated in order to provide any visiting lords and ladies to the Northern court with an afternoon of unusual entertainment. But amusement was the last thing on her mind as she cursed her current predicament. It was nothing more than a novelty, Brienne decided, and not for the first time either, as she marched through an elaborately adorned clover and moss archway, the structure acting as a reminder of the Stark children that had once played in the same well tended gardens.

Despite the unlikely endurance of the sharp jade blades through the seasons and the warm breezes that blew in from White Habor and beyond, Winterfell was still an unforgiving place to live at times, the intermittent summer snows keeping Brienne on edge almost as much as they kept the temperature bearable. And, like the persistent vegetation, though she would never admit it to his ever present face or his laughing emerald eyes, she thanked the heavens every day for Jaime's continued presence by Lady Sansa's side, both as a fellow advisor and as a stubbornly persistent opponent whenever they found themselves sharing the practice yard. She had long since recognised that there was far more to their connection than simple camaraderie bleeding through from war to peace, whisperings of exchanged cloaks and borrowed body heat building in the back of her mind. However she was much too frustrated by his actions that morning to stop and listen to her swirling thoughts.

The upcoming festivities that were planned to last well into the next sennight had become the first point of conversation between Lady Sansa and her two closest counsellors since before her most recent name day, some six moons ago, resulting in frantic flurries of ravens arriving on a near daily basis with well wishes, promises of victories and delicate favours. Meanwhile, the long forgotten tourney grounds had sprung back into life with a fluttering of flags and impatient whinnies as the squires rounded up dozens of destriers for a new generation of boys playing at war. Even Jaime, it seemed, had allowed himself to get caught up in the commotion, only the day before commenting on the chances of the practicing Stark bannermen as they had passed on their way to and from the great hall. Their increasingly unavoidable presence, and the recurrence of Lady Sansa's excited chatter during meeting after meeting with disgruntled smallfolk, meant Jaime should have known exactly when and where to be in order to greet the first of her highborn guests. And yet, he had not been there.

Brienne had dutifully rushed through the rest of their regularly shared routine, time ticking away before the first party would arrive, quickly starting to feel like Jaime was purposely feeding into her frustration by staying one step ahead, his absence made even more unusual due to the lack of his normal behaviour whenever they were to be parted for long. She knew it had become habit when they had been fighting for their next breath in a frozen wasteland, his embarrassingly improper actions verging on teasing now where once they had been laced with mutual concern. But Jaime remained tantalisingly just out of reach, never where he was supposed to be, and after Brienne had methodically checked the hall, training yard and stables, finding his latest ironically named mount snorting in her stall, the only place left to investigate was the maze.

Her second turn took her straight into a dead end and Brienne cursed colourfully under her breath, pushing away her building exasperation as the sound of voices, Jaime's unintelligible mutterings interspersed with questions and giggles, finally drifted up from the other side of the wall of green.

When Brienne eventually discovered a path to the centre of the maze, traversing the numerous ivy clad arches and overhanging emerald distractions, she let out a heavy breath at finding Jaime sitting on the ground surrounded by the orphan children they had brought south of The Wall following war and winter. The youngest had been no more than a few moons old, much too young to even have a name, yet Jaime had only glanced between the shivering child and his frowning partner before softly smothering Brienne's face with dozens of soothing kisses, promising to carry the little girl every step of the way to their new home if that was what it took. Dawn was half asleep in his lap now, almost four years old and as safe and loved as she could ever be, the only one of their adopted brood not hanging on Jaime's every word.

As if sensing a change in the air, Jaime lifted his head to blind her with his verdant gaze, the sparkling colour appearing even more vibrant in the garden. Brienne returned the smile without thinking, feeling as if a weight was lifting off her shoulders and heart, leaning against the grassy wall to listen to whatever tale he was spinning. The pause in his storytelling, however momentary, caused two of the small audience to turn and squeal over who had now joined them, Tansy and Hazel on their feet and pulling Brienne down before she could find the words to protest. They were both too young to remember much of what had come before Winterfell. Their brother, Forest, was even younger though he had been the first to settle in to sleeping under stone rather than sky, when they were finally all together in the castle, fighting nightmares until five exhausted children had found comfort in the bed Brienne hadn't been allowed to enjoy sharing with Jaime just yet. But even after everything, the eldest of the group, Wren, had kept her wariness, coming up on three and ten, and now she offered nothing more than the briefest of nods in welcome.

"Wren came to find me earlier," Jaime explained with another smile that crinkled the lines around his eyes. "They needed some reassurance that a tourney didn't mean that we were being invaded. I was just about to tell them the story of The Knight of Flowers and The Mountain."

Brienne hid her own grin, knowing that he would keep out his own loss that day. "Oh."

"Unless you think they'd prefer to hear about you competing at Bitterbridge."

A chorus of voices sounded their approval and Jaime shifted into a more comfortable position, his eyes never leaving Brienne's. "Should I start at the beginning then, my love?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
